Thirteen Hours by Express and Other Writings

A student boards the overnight express to Osaka with a fortune in his pocket and a private detective at his side. The two men opposite talk relentlessly about crime and disguise. As the hours pass, every casual remark seems to threaten the money he must deliver.

Kōga Saburō pairs this train mystery with three other writings from the early years of Japanese detective fiction. A personal recollection reveals an unexpected acquaintance with Edogawa Ranpo. A contribution to The Fifth-Floor Window pits a novelist’s dream interpretation against a reporter’s inquiries. In For the Sake of Love, a helpful gesture in a crowded bus queue leaves a struggling young couple caring for an unknown baby.

This complete new English translation preserves each supplied work, including the collaborative story’s original cliffhanger and the final tale’s successive voices. Concise notes explain period details, textual readings, and editorial additions while keeping the characters’ reasoning, suspicions, and discoveries in the foreground.